Sargent Shriver first articulated a new fourth goal for the Peace Corps in his speech at Yale University last year. Congressman Sam Farr has included the fourth goal in the new Peace Corps legislation he and Senator Dodd will soon be introducing in Congress. Now read an op-ed piece by Ethiopia-Eritrea RPCV John Rude written exclusively for PCOL on why the Peace Corps needs the Fourth Goal and what it will mean for the Peace Corps at:

This year many volunteers have contacted us about the NPCA's 40th plus one and asked how they can participate in the program without having to pay for the entire 40th plus one program.

The best way is to come to the Returned Volunteers Country of Service Flag Procession from Lincoln Memorial to Arlington Cemetery on Sunday morning, June 23 and then attend the Closing Ceremony at the Amphitheatre at Arlington Cemetery. There will be no charge to participate in this event and we expect many thousands of volunteers will attend. Don't miss this event because it will not be held again for many years and it may be the last chance to meet and to honor some of the Charter Volunteers and Staff who started the Peace Corps forty years ago. Get details on the Flag Procession to Arlington Cemetery and the Closing Ceremonies at:

Morocco RPCV Barbara Ferris and Ethiopia RPCV John Coyne were two of the strongest advocates against the nomination of Gaddi Vasquez as Peace Corps Director. Now these two founding members of the "Committee for the Future of the Peace Corps" have formed "The Peace Corps Fund" to provide grants to help promote RPCV efforts to advance the third goal of the Peace Corps. Read more about the Peace Corps Fund at:

With President Bush's Executive Order, the Peace Corps was brought under the umbrella of the USA Freedom Corps with a number of other volunteer programs . Among them is TIP, the Terrorist Information and Prevention System, whose mission is to "report suspicious activity." Learn more about this "sister" program to the Peace Corps, how it will help Americans "identify terrorist activity in their neighborhoods" and tell us what you think at:

Last month we put up our Peace Corps Cartoon called "Culture Shock" and asked our readers to come up with the funniest caption. See what RPCVs wrote and compare it to the original caption. Then, take a look at our cartoon for this month - "Visit to a PCV in the field" - and come up with your own caption for it.

Read this story on the opening of East Timor to the Peace Corps. The first twenty volunteers are currently serving in the Peace Corps and were selected to transfer to East Timor in mid-June. Congratulations to the Peace Corps on opening a program in the world's newest country. Read the story at:

Read and article about Presidential Grandson Jason Carter's book about his years in South Africa and the effort to repair some of the damage done by former president F.W. de Klerk's apartheid regime, by helping to educate the region's black residents.

...........C. AFRICAN VOLUNTEERS TO COMBAT AIDS IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES

Read about a creative initiative to support HIV/AIDS prevention-and-care efforts by African volunteers, for the communities in which they live, at the grassroots level in Africa. Africare was founded by RPCVs including C. Payne Lucas, winner of the Peace Corps' Prestigious Franklin H. Williams Award honoring Community Service Leaders Nationwide.

Read the email which he and Roger Landrum have sent to RPCV Group Leaders in the NPCA asking for names and signatures of RPCVs and groups who endorse the legislation. A new version of the bill is expected in early June.

...........E. VASQUEZ INTERVIEWED ON THE ROLE OF PC IN THE WAR ON TERRORISM

Orange County Congressman Chris Cox interviewed Director Vasquez and talked about the mission of the Peace Corps, its role in the war against terrorism, the plan to double the number of Peace Corps volunteers over the next five years and how to become a volunteer.

Read about RPCV Mongolia Nathan Burnore who is now in his first week of basic military training at Fort Sill, Okla. because he believes his interest and expertise in Central Asia could be of value to his country.

PCOL was at the Press Conference in which Founding Director Sargent Shriver spoke about the announcement that the Special Olympics will be holding their 2007 games in Shanghai. See a recent photo of Sarge and read the story at:

There have been many posts by RPCVs in the last month commenting on previous stories PCOL has posted. Be sure and take a look at what RPCVs had to say about the following stories:

...........A. RPCVS ANALYZE PROPOSED PC LEGISLATION

Read the draft legislation, read our interview with Sam Farr where we raise the questions that have been posted on our Message Boards, and read our op-ed pieces by RPCVs commenting on the legislation. This is a must-read for anyone interested in the future of the Peace Corps. You won't get this reporting or analysis on Peace Corps issues anywhere else.

"For Peace Corps veterans the Bush administration's plan to consolidate several volunteer programs into a new office of volunteer activity named the USA Freedom Corps calls to mind the well-worn responses of 'been there, done that,' and 'deja vu all over again'" writes former Peace Corps Deputy Director David Searles in this exclusive op-ed piece on previous attempts to merge the Peace Corps at:

We are always looking for Returned Volunteers who have something to say. If you would like to contribute an article about the Peace Corps, a visit to your Country of Service, work your group is doing, an op-ed piece, a cartoon, or a story, please contact us at:

...........F. Please forward this email to your RPCV listservs, message boards and to other RPCVs.

...........G. To unsubscribe from this Monthly Newsletter, send an email reply with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

...........H. Peace Corps Online is an independent news forum dedicated to the free exchange of ideas among Returned Peace Corps Volunteers and is not affiliated with the US Peace Corps or any other returned volunteer organization.

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